HFF Marketing Loan for The Vue

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor
Real estate firm HFF L.P. recently began marketing $130 million in junior debt tied to The Vue–Charlotte, a luxury uptown condominium project. Miami-based investors are said to have shown interest for the note.
Current owner MCL Cos. [...]

Real estate firm HFF L.P. recently began marketing $130 million in junior debt tied to The Vue–Charlotte, a luxury uptown condominium project. Miami-based investors are said to have shown interest for the note.

Current owner MCL Cos. of Chicago defaulted on its junior debt in February 2011. The $195 million debt was assumed by insurance companies Mitsui Sumitomo of Japan and Germany-based Munich RE that had provided default insurance to the junior debt holder.

The insurance companies are now reportedly marketing the debt to investors, some of which would want to re-purpose the development into apartments. At the moment, The Vue is said to be worth $110 million—while the debt note is expected to sell for $52 million. However, a potential buyer would have to pay around $60 million in senior debt loans currently held by Goldman Sachs.

Dan McClean, MCL’s president and chief executive, has said in a statement that some of the mezzanine lenders are attempting to sell their junior mortgage to third-party investors, but ownership of The Vue’s loan has not defaulted and the high-rise will remain a condominium project.

Orlando-based Churchill Development Group LLC and Westminster Partners LLC of Lake Forest, Ill. announced The Vue in 2005 but struggled with securing the necessary financing. MCL bought the project in 2007 and managed to finish the luxury development in 2010, but sales are still slow. According to a Charlotte Business Journal report, buyers have closed on 18 units.

The Vue is 51-story luxury condominium residence in Charlotte’s uptown with amenities such as parking, biometric fingerprint access security, a lounge and club room, a Junior Olympic-sized pool, multipurpose sports court and a pet park overlooking Fourth Ward Park in Uptown.